Mark A. Johnson Tribal Art

I have been a collector and dealer of traditional tribal art since the early 1970s, when I bought my first object, a 19th century Uzbek ikat hanging (since sold to the Guido Goldman Central Asia ikat collection). In search of additional examples, I quickly visited the few rug galleries and import shops I could find in California, until I decided I needed to travel directly to the source countries in Asia.

What I assumed would be a month long leave of absence from my last job, stretched to more than four months, as I traveled across Asia from Hong Kong to Afghanistan. On my return, I was able to sell many of these items to a small, but growing group of enthusiastic Southern Californian collectors.

This passion for art, culture, and travel soon became a business, and I launched my first “import” company in 1979, specializing in Asian textiles. Eventually, I shifted my emphasis from Central Asia to Southeast Asia, especially the vast island archipelago of Indonesia and my interest in textile arts led to an interest in other forms of tribal art.

Today Mark A. Johnson Tribal Art specializes in the traditional arts of Asia and the Western Pacific, with an emphasis on the Austronesian cultures of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Formosa; offering authentic sculptures, architectural elements, beadwork, textiles, costumes, ceramics, masks, basketry, jewelry, weaponry, shamanic objects, and other miscellaneous ethnographic items.

Mark A. Johnson Tribal Art is based in the Venice Beach-Marina del Rey area of Los Angeles, California. The gallery is open by appointment only.